Best Time to Buy a Used Car in NJ: A Month-by-Month Guide
By the Apex Motors Team · Last updated: September 29, 2026
The best time to buy a used car is January and February, and the worst stretch runs from May through July. That is the finding of iSeeCars, which analyzed more than 40 million used car sales from 2024 and 2025.
If you have read Edmunds, you have seen the opposite advice: November is best and January is worst. Both are right about different things, and knowing which is which changes how you shop.
Quick answer: The best time to buy a used car is when the most listings sit well below market value. iSeeCars counts a deal as a price at least 10% under market, about $2,689 on its $26,889 average used car. In its 2024 to 2025 data, January had 55.6% more deals than average and June had 22.8% fewer.
When Do Car Prices Drop? Why iSeeCars and Edmunds Disagree
iSeeCars measures deal frequency: how often a listing is priced at least 10% below market value. On an average day, a used car shopper has a 13.7% chance of finding one.
Edmunds measures price levels from its sales data. Ivan Drury, its director of insights, says the best discounts arrive in October and November, while January starts the year with strong used car values and high retail prices.
Our read of the two datasets is that both can be true at once. Average prices can run high in January while more individual cars are priced below their own market value. Edmunds tells you when the typical sticker is lowest; iSeeCars tells you when you are most likely to find an underpriced car.
If you are hunting for a car priced below market, shop January and February. If you want the lowest average sticker, Edmunds points to October and November.
Best Time to Buy a Used Car by Month
Each figure below shows how many more or fewer below-market deals iSeeCars found in that month than in the average month.
| Month | Deals vs. average | What is happening | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | +55.6% | Holiday shopping is over and showroom traffic is thin | Best month to find a below-market car |
| February | +36.2% | IRS refunds begin reaching bank accounts from mid-February | Strong window before refund demand builds |
| March | +6.3% | Most refunds that include family tax credits arrive around March 2 | Still above average; act fast on good listings |
| April | −15.0% | Edmunds sees a tax-season price lift through March and April | Expect firmer prices and less room to negotiate |
| May | −22.2% | Warm weather brings more shoppers out | Avoid if your timing is flexible |
| June | −22.8% | Peak shopping season | Worst month; buy only if you need to |
| July | −22.1% | Summer vacations and holiday promotions | Judge every sale against market value |
| August | −7.8% | Summer demand starts to fade | Better than midsummer, still below average |
| September | −3.2% | Close to average | Neutral; shop on the car, not the calendar |
| October | +2.1% | Edmunds names October one of its two best months | Above average on both datasets |
| November | +5.8% | Edmunds' best month for discounts | Good window that many shoppers overlook |
| December | +15.2% | Year-end holidays slow showroom traffic | Third-best month; the last week is strongest |
Source: iSeeCars study of more than 40 million used car sales, 2024 to 2025, with monthly figures as reported by Money Talks News in December 2025. Refund timing: IRS.
October through March beat the average every month. April through September fall below it.
Why Each Season Behaves the Way It Does
The pattern in the table follows the weather more than the calendar, and each season has its own reason.
Winter (December to February)
Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars, says used car prices tend to follow the average temperature, falling from November through March and bottoming out between December 31 and February 28.
Cold weather and holiday spending keep many shoppers home, so a dealer with a full lot has fewer buyers to sell to. That is when below-market pricing shows up most often.
Spring (March to May)
Tax refunds change the picture. The IRS opened the 2026 filing season on January 26 and issues most refunds within 21 days for e-filed returns with direct deposit.
Refunds that include the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit cannot be issued before mid-February, and the IRS expected most of them to be available by March 2, 2026.
More buyers arrive with cash for a down payment, and Edmunds sees prices lift through March and April. Deal odds slide from slightly above average in March to among the worst of the year by May.
Summer (June to August)
Warm weather and vacations make car shopping more appealing, and dealers have less reason to discount. Brauer advises being skeptical of special offers between Memorial Day and Labor Day and checking any advertised price against the car's market value.
Autumn (September to November)
New model years arrive, and manufacturer promotions pull some shoppers toward new cars. Edmunds says this eases demand for used cars, which is why its data shows the best discounts in October and November.
Cars.com found in March 2026 that 59% of new-car shoppers would consider a used car if new models are out of budget, so new-car incentives shift used demand too.
The Holiday Sales That Aren't (and the Ones That Are)
The holidays with the biggest car advertising budgets are among the worst days to find a used car deal. The winter holidays with little advertising are the best.
| Best holidays (more deals than average) | Worst holidays (fewer deals than average) |
|---|---|
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day: +65.5% | July 4th: −22.4% |
| New Year's Eve and New Year's Day: +58.6% | Father's Day: −19.7% |
| Presidents' Day: +47.0% | Juneteenth: −19.7% |
| Veterans Day: +23.1% | Memorial Day: −18.0% |
| Christmas Eve: +15.2% | Mother's Day: −9.2% |
| Thanksgiving and Black Friday: +9.5% | Labor Day: −5.0% |
Source: iSeeCars, 2024 to 2025 used car sales.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents' Day are both Mondays, which makes it easy to plan around in a state where dealers close on Sundays.
End of Month: What Actually Works on a Used Car
Shopping the last days of the month is mainly new-car advice. Manufacturers set monthly volume targets for their franchise dealers, and hitting them can earn the dealer extra money.
Used cars have no factory bonus tied to the calendar. What pressures a dealer is how long a car has been sitting, because every extra week costs money to finance and store while the car loses value.
Ask how long a specific car has been on the lot before you worry about the date. A car that has sat for two months is a better target on the 8th than a fresh trade-in is on the 30th.
Should You Wait for a Better Month?
For most shoppers, the calendar is not the deciding factor. Cars.com surveyed 1,911 shoppers from March 6 to 10, 2026, and found that 75% were in the market because they needed a vehicle, not just wanted one.
The same research found that more than half of current shoppers had already delayed their purchase once. Experienced buyers report that waiting mostly moves them into the same spring rush as everyone else who waited.
Consumer Reports gives the same advice from the other side: if you need a car now, act quickly when you find the right one and negotiate from an informed position. Timing is a tiebreaker for flexible buyers, not a plan for someone whose car just failed.
Three Things That Matter More Than the Month You Buy
The month moves your odds of finding a deal. These three factors move the price you actually pay, in any month.
- Your interest rate. Consumer Reports, citing Experian, puts the average used car rate at over 11% in the first quarter of 2026. On a $25,000 loan over 60 months, a 13% rate instead of 11% adds about $1,516 in interest, more than half the value of a typical iSeeCars deal. See our vehicle financing options; financing is subject to lender approval.
- The car's history. Every Apex Motors vehicle comes with a free CARFAX report, provided on the spot at the showroom. Accident and service records tell you more about value than the month does.
- A pre-purchase inspection. A car that needs $1,200 in deferred maintenance is not a deal in any month. Use our hands-on used car buying checklist before you sign.
Timing a Used Car Purchase in New Jersey
New Jersey adds three local factors that national studies do not cover.
A six-day shopping week. State law, N.J.S.A. 2C:33-26, bans buying or selling motor vehicles on Sundays in every New Jersey county. That makes Monday holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents' Day especially useful.
Post-salt-season inspection. New Jersey inspections check emissions only, so nobody checks the underside of the car for you. January and February, already the best months for deals, are also when a car has just been through a full salt season, which makes it the most revealing time to have a mechanic look underneath.
Bad weather. One snowy afternoon does not change a dealer's pricing. A long stretch of bad weather that keeps shoppers home and lets inventory age can give you real room to negotiate.
Best Time to Buy a Used Car in NJ: Your Next Step
If your timing is flexible, aim for January or February and plan a visit around a Monday holiday. If it is not, fix your rate first and judge each car on its history. The full used-car buying process walks through financing, paperwork, and inspection step by step.
Apex Motors works with all credit profiles and a network of lenders. Visit either Route 46 lot: South Hackensack at 1 Apex Plaza, South Hackensack, NJ 07606, or Pine Brook at 460 US-46, Pine Brook, NJ 07058, open Monday to Saturday, 10 AM to 7 PM, and closed Sundays. See hours and directions or call (201) 555-0147.
See what is on the lot this month before you visit.
Sources
- IRS, IRS opens 2026 filing season (January 26, 2026)
- NJ Motor Vehicle Commission, emissions-only inspection notice (PDF)
- iSeeCars, The 10 Best and 10 Worst Times to Buy a Used Car (40 million used car sales, 2024 to 2025)
- Money Talks News, monthly breakdown of the iSeeCars study (December 2025)
- Edmunds, When Is the Best Time to Buy a Used Car? (comments from Ivan Drury, director of insights)
- Consumer Reports, What You Can Do to Find a Good Used Car Now (average used car rate from Experian)
- Cars.com, Beyond Browsing: Car Shoppers Are Buying With Purpose (survey of 1,911 shoppers, March 6 to 10, 2026)
- N.J.S.A. 2C:33-26, sale of motor vehicles on Sunday
FAQ
What is the best month to buy a used car?
January. The iSeeCars study of more than 40 million used car sales from 2024 and 2025 found 55.6% more below-market deals in January than in the average month, followed by February at 36.2% and December at 15.2%. Edmunds names November instead, because it tracks average sale prices rather than deal frequency.
When do used car prices drop?
Used car prices tend to fall with the temperature. Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars, says prices generally drop from November through March and bottom out between December 31 and February 28. Edmunds sees a slight rise in March and April as tax refunds bring more buyers into the market.
Are end-of-year car deals in NJ worth it for used cars?
Yes, for used cars the end of the year is one of the strongest windows. iSeeCars found 15.2% more deals than average in December and 58.6% more on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Because New Jersey dealers cannot sell on Sundays, call ahead to confirm holiday hours before you plan the trip.
Are Memorial Day and July 4th car sales worth waiting for?
Not for used cars. iSeeCars found 22.4% fewer deals than average on July 4th, 19.7% fewer on Father's Day and Juneteenth, and 18.0% fewer on Memorial Day. Holiday advertising peaks in summer, but below-market listings do not, so compare any advertised price with the car's market value.
Should you wait for a better month to buy a used car?
Only if your current car is reliable. Consumer Reports advises buyers who need a car now to act quickly once they find the right one and negotiate from an informed position. Your loan rate, the car's history, and a pre-purchase inspection usually matter more than the month on the calendar.